The VILLAGE to VILLA PROJECT

To know what it’s really like to live in a country with a different language and culture, you must live like the locals.

We are two experienced media professionals and we’ve hit the road with our cameras and lap tops.

Arlington Row, The Cotswolds

We are pet and house sitting, tasting life from Village to Villa – living like locals.

All up it will be one year of spontaneous moments, wonder and discovery.

In addition to taking care of various dogs, cats, sheep, chickens and even a hedgehog, we are producing a television series.

The series will total 13 episodes of 24 minutes duration.

Village to Villa – living like locals is being shot in 4 countries.

AUSTRALIA –FRANCE–UK – ITALY

HERE’S A LITTLE TASTE OF THE SERIES

We are currently back in France en route to Umbria in ITALY!

Neil (AKA Jean-Pierre) finally sees the Eiffel Tower for the first time.

Enjoying the Place des Vosges

...there are SO many cheeses in France!

Each of us has seen parts of Europe as a tourist, now it’s time to dig deeper and discover what it’s really like to LIVE in France, Italy, or the UK.

What is it like to step into another family’s sanctuary, sleep in their beds, make dinner in their kitchen, take care of their beloved pets and even drive the family car? Will the neighbours be over with curiosity and casseroles? We hope so!

Baldric the Bald Eagle

With only a smattering of French and no Italian beyond grazie and biscotti, how will we communicate without creating a massive or potentially embarrassing misunderstanding?

THE POSSIBILITIES

How would you like to spend three weeks in aFrench chateauwhere you care for a small pack of poodles in return for luxury living?

Chateau du Mauran

Or stay in an ancient stone cottage with a pool and a knock out viewin return for watering the garden and feeding the chooks?

a cold morning in Coussac Bonneval

Would cat sitting in a Cotswolds village in the UK send you delirious?

The Cotswolds

Is spending two lazy weeks near the white sandy beaches

of Australia your idea of bliss? You may be required to do some light gardening.

These are real options for our house sitting year.

So far we’ve stayed in a 5 bedroom luxury home on the Gold Coast, with a pool in the yard that backs onto a championship golf course. We fell heavily for the family’s adorable 2 year old black Moodle called Ruby.

Ruby – a gorgeous Moodle

In the Port Stephens region in the central coast area of NSW we cared for 2 extremely well behaved and loving poodles called Darby and Scout. We checked out every amazing piece of beach and coastline.

Zenith Beach

Then we moved into a large family home on a small rural property in the stunning Adelaide Hills. We cared for a gorgeous senior dog called Lane, a cross-bred sheep called Arthur and 5 egg laying hens. This location put us dangerously close to Australia’s premier wine producing districts, the Adelaide Hills itself as well as the Barossa Valley. We were lucky enough to see one of the most important wine collections in the world – the Barrel Room at Seppeltsfield.

Farewelling Arthur

So far in France – we’ve spent 2 weeks in a fully restored 300 year old stone farmhouse. It sits in a hamlet of 4 buildings, a few kilometres from the village of Coussac Bonneval in SW France. Two very affectionate and active Spaniels called Alfie and Rosie took us for a walk 3 times a day, often in the grounds of a nearby 19th century chateau!

walking Rosie & Alfie at Chateau Chaufille

We spent time in a farmhouse in NORMANDY where we looked after 1 dog, 1 cat and 2 ewes about to lamb… and they did! Cameras were rolling.

New life!

We moved on to the UK where we house sat a modern castle in SCOTLAND…. we luxuriated in the beauty of the Cotswolds and looked for the farm of Princess Anne… we wallowed in the loveliness of Devon and Bishops Waltham.

As Aussies, we don’t balk at driving long distances in our own huge, flat country but how are we going with driving on the other side of the road – sitting in the other side of the car – keeping up with the 130 kph freeway French speed demons !! ??

We hope you’ll stay with us and find out!

Join us as we travel through 4 countries.

Subscribe at “Keep Track of Village to Villa” so you never miss a thing.

Village to Villa producers

Keep track of Village to Villa

We'll send you an email when we post, just need your details. Thank you for joining the Village to Villa adventure.

Email Address

Become a Supporter

Would YOU like to become involved in the production of "Village to Villa" ?
There are various options that you can choose from to become an active member of the production team.
CLICK HERE for the details